Well you can always go to ibuypower. They have some solid deals right now and you can pretty much customize them the way you want with out needing to build it yourself. I just did a test build that got a pretty good computer for 900. No monitor though.

Microcenter had an i5 2400 for like $110 (******* steal - it goes for $190 on newegg) a few weeks ago when I was orchestrating my new build. I had to pass, though because I really needed a new washer and dryer more than a new computer.

(and yes, I'm a bang for the buck guy, not a latest & greatest type)

Yeah, I'm pretty shocked at some of their prices. The i5 I got goes for $240 on Newegg and I got it for $189. The mobo is like $140 on Newegg and only $90 there. With shipping included, that's over a hundred cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bantx

I got my i7 3770 processor from microcenter for 260 saved a bunch there and they just told me when I went to go pick everything up they price match everything there so I could've saved a bunch of money on shipping.

Might have to try that. I feel bad since I'm getting a steal on that stuff, but I've found better deals on cases/RAM. I was planning on getting it there anyway since I want it to finish it all in one go, but I would love to save some more.

Any recommendations on a case? I would like something black on black with cable management options, no fancy lights or anything.

Might have to try that. I feel bad since I'm getting a steal on that stuff, but I've found better deals on cases/RAM. I was planning on getting it there anyway since I want it to finish it all in one go, but I would love to save some more.

Any recommendations on a case? I would like something black on black with cable management options, no fancy lights or anything.

this is what I have, they have slots for cable management the lights from the fan barely shine through the case and there's a button to disable the lighting on the case itself. I love it, everything in the case is tool less. You pop on brackets for the hard drive and just slide it in and the cd/dvd drive and slide and lock. It's pretty cheap for this kind of case too. Everything is black too, no grey inside like some cases.

The Corsair Obsidian series is really nice if you're looking for good, sleek case without the over-the-top crap.

My current "want" case is the Corsair Carbide Series 500R. It comes in white and really dark gray. It has LEDs, but it also has a switch on the case to turn them off. It's super slick. The only thing I don't like about it is the bowed out sides, but they're functional.

Hate to hijack the PC Gaming thread with other Computery stuff, but I'm just wondering if it's worth it to buy a new router? The one I have now is a Linksys WRT54G , would something more recent improve anything at all?

If the one you have now is working properly then you will gain next to nothing from a new one.

I recently had to replace my old one because it was fried and to be honest despite buying a better product that was 5+ years newer I haven't noticed any performance increase in anything. One of the few computer components that doesn't really seem to be improving rapidly.

This may not apply in the USA where you have better than 3rd world internet hardware though because obviously being in Australia it's not like our telephony networks have the capacity to actually push or test a router on that side...

I wanted a different case, but the computer is also for my girlfriend to use as well and I promised her she could pick it out. The selection was kind of limited, so that's the one we ended up with. The cable management options aren't quite as well designed as I would have liked, but it's perfectly functional.

But I assembled my new PC today!

....well, I tried to. Building went smoothly(I've done it a few times before), checked everything over carefully, powered on...and no BIOS and no beeps. The board I selected has a built in thing to display debug codes, but that isn't lighting up either. The motherboard appears to be dead of arrival. It's a bit of a pain in the ass since Micro Center is a bit of a treck to get to, but I suppose that's what I get for going for the best deal. I'm not sure if they're open tomorrow or not, but hopefully I'm able to get up there within the next few days.

Hate to hijack the PC Gaming thread with other Computery stuff, but I'm just wondering if it's worth it to buy a new router? The one I have now is a Linksys WRT54G , would something more recent improve anything at all?

I'm actually looking for a router myself to bring back down to college with me. I've never used a router before and have zero knowledge on them.

I wanted a different case, but the computer is also for my girlfriend to use as well and I promised her she could pick it out. The selection was kind of limited, so that's the one we ended up with. The cable management options aren't quite as well designed as I would have liked, but it's perfectly functional.

But I assembled my new PC today!

....well, I tried to. Building went smoothly(I've done it a few times before), checked everything over carefully, powered on...and no BIOS and no beeps. The board I selected has a built in thing to display debug codes, but that isn't lighting up either. The motherboard appears to be dead of arrival. It's a bit of a pain in the ass since Micro Center is a bit of a treck to get to, but I suppose that's what I get for going for the best deal. I'm not sure if they're open tomorrow or not, but hopefully I'm able to get up there within the next few days.

That's the one. It's an hours drive away from where I live without traffic(which I was fortunate enough to not have to deal with today), so it's not THAT bad...but it was a little bit of a ***** to have to get to two days in a row. I'm probably going back at some point to pick up a graphics card and better CPU fan. Really liked the place though. I hadn't been there before.